Students are expected to remain resident on campus at one of the partner universities until their dissertation has been successfully defended. Students who leave campus prior to completing their dissertations can request that they be registered as in absentia. However, the in absentia designation does not maintain full-time status, which may have consequences for the student's immigration status, and limits the student's ability to use certain university resources. Students must spend at least half of the time of their PhD in one of the Portuguese partner institutions.

Students who have satisfactorily completed all requirements except the teaching requirement and dissertation are automatically registered as being ABD ("all but dissertation"). This designation maintains a student's status as enrolled full-time, but might involve reduced tuition charges.